Man Builds Tiny House for Homeless Friend

For years Irene “Smokie” McGee has been homeless after the passing of her husband and losing the house. It has been rough with people being mean to her and pointing her out for being different.

But one man didn’t see Smokie the same way. Smokie would come to Elvis Summers’ house, hoping for recyclables, and after some time the two became friends. Summers didn’t like that Smokie was living off the street. He saw her as a human being, a mother, a grandmother, and a friend. So he wanted to change things for her.

Summers asked Smokie if he could build her a house.

Summers bought most of the materials and a local company donated the rest. It took five days, but Summers managed to build a small 3.5 by 8 foot house for Smokie. He didn’t have anywhere to put it, so he set it on the street outside of his apartment. The LAPD are okay with it as long as the little home is moved every 72 hours.

Since finishing Smokie’s house, Summers has been approached by other homeless people who were hoping for a little house of their own. Summers set up a GoFundMe to try to get the money to build the little houses and is working with local authorities to find a place for everyone to safely place their tiny homes.